Rob's Milestone Birthday
by Kristen3
Summary: On her husband's 90th birthday, Laura plans a surprise party, but Rob only wants a romantic dinner for two. Can she make him see that this is a birthday worth celebrating?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** This story came to me after seeing numerous posts about Dick's birthday. I began to wonder how Rob's 90th would be celebrated, and this resulted. I don't have the final chapter written, but I'll try to ASAP! Many thanks to Leigh Ann ( **leighann415** ) for patiently waiting for this to be posted, even partially!

Laura awoke with a smile on her face. It took a moment to remember why she was so happy, but then she recalled what day it was. "Happy birthday, darling." She kissed her husband, waking him.

Rob stirred in his sleep. The first thing he saw was Laura's face. He smiled automatically at the sight. He immediately returned her kiss. "This day isn't really a big deal. I told you that last night. And the night before that. And the night before _that_ , as a matter of fact."

"But, Rob, you only turn ninety once!" For the life of her, Laura could not understand why her husband insisted on downplaying his birthday. Sure, no one likes getting older, but this was such a milestone.

"Yes," Rob agreed. "It's just _one_ day. Tomorrow, things go back to normal."

Laura sighed. Ever since _The Alan Brady Show_ had been canceled some twenty years ago, their lives hadn't been the same. For a few years, Rob continued writing, mostly selling jokes to would-be comedians. But, gradually, people seemed to not want his style of comedy. "Clean" had become another word for "boring." Now their lives revolved around weekly bridge games with the Helpers next door. And, of course, they had each other. That would never change.

Slowly, Laura got out of bed. "I'll go start breakfast," she said. Living in this house for so many years, Laura could literally walk through it blindfolded with no problem. It seemed that everything held a memory for her. Most of them, of course, involved Richie. She smiled as she pictured him playing here in the living room. He was a grown man now, with a son of his own, but Laura still saw him as her little boy.

When she reached the kitchen, Laura forced herself to put her memories aside. If she got caught up in nostalgia, she would get nothing done. Besides, it would depress her, and that was the last thing she wanted on Rob's special day. Making breakfast was easy, considering she'd done it thousands of times before. The only difference now was that Rob would not be rushing off to the office. Laura was startled when the phone rang. She quickly answered it, not wanting to wake Rob if he'd gone back to sleep. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mom. What's Dad up to?" Richie asked.

Laura smiled at the sound of her son's voice. Of course he wouldn't forget his father's birthday. "He's in bed, I think. I'm making breakfast for him. He thinks this should be a day like any other day." She couldn't help sighing.

Richie grinned. "That must mean he doesn't suspect a thing."

"No, I don't think your father has any idea that he's getting a birthday party, whether he likes it or not." Suddenly, Laura could hardly wait for this evening.


	2. Chapter 2

Laura entered the living room that afternoon, sighing when she found him reading a book. "Rob, is this how you're going to spend your whole birthday?"

Rob looked up. "Of course not, honey. I do want to have a candelight dinner with the most beautiful girl in the world." He smiled.

His words warmed Laura's heart. Even after all these years, Rob still saw her as beautiful. She wondered how she'd ever doubted his feelings. But that was decades ago. "Well, I hope you mean me," she said, going over to kiss him.

"Actually, I was wondering if Millie was doing anything tonight," Rob joked. He looked at her, amazed that she hadn't aged a day in the last thirty years, at least in his eyes. "I don't need some big birthday celebration. All I need is you here with me. What could be better than that?"

For a moment, Laura almost wished she hadn't planned a surprise party tonight. A romantic dinner with Rob suddenly sounded nice. But she recovered quickly. She knew Rob would love seeing all of his old friends, as well as their son.

With Laura in his arms, Rob soon lost all interest in reading. Even at their advanced ages, they were still deeply in love. It was a fact that constantly amazed Millie and Jerry.

In between passionate kisses with his wife, Rob was forced to come up for air. He didn't really have the stamina he did when he was younger, but, when it came to Laura, he'd push himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at his watch. It was early evening. How had that happened? "Laura….shouldn't you start making dinner?"

Laura felt a slight panic beginning to creep up. A quiet dinner together was impossible. Their friends were due in about half an hour. "Oh, darling, let's not rush. Aren't you enjoying this?" She grinned, letting him know she certainly was.

"Of course I am, Laura. But food is a basic necessity. I don't really want to starve, either."

Laura's panic increased. "Well, why don't you go and get ready for our romantic dinner? Tonight should be special. I'll go see what I can do in the kitchen."

Rob took a moment to look in his wife's eyes before speaking. "All right. I have a feeling tonight's going to be a very memorable birthday." He got up, making his way back to their bedroom.

"Oh, I can guarantee that," Laura muttered to herself after he'd left the room. How could she stall him until their guests arrived?

A few minutes later, Rob emerged from their room, wearing a suit. Laura gasped at the sight. Even with his hair now white, he was still just as handsome as he was back when they met. "Honey, why aren't you making us a romantic dinner?" Rob asked when he saw her just sitting there.

Laura knew there was no sense in lying. She'd just have to come clean. "Darling, I'm afraid a candelight dinner for two is out of the question." Over the years, she'd had to tell him about much worse things, like that she'd told a nationwide TV audience about Alan Brady's baldness, but she thought this might be the most disappointing to her husband.

"Well, why not? This is the one thing I wanted for my birthday, Laura." Rob had to work to not sound angry. It wasn't in his nature, but to not be able to have something so simple was frustrating.

"Before I tell you, do you promise not to yell?" Laura asked.

"Well, I suppose not," Rob said, coming over to her. "Honey, are you all right?" Now he began to worry about her.

"Yes, I'm fine," Laura said. "But the truth is, it won't be just us tonight. I've invited Millie and Jerry, and Sally, and Richie. It was supposed to be a surprise."

"But I specifically said I didn't want my birthday to be a big deal," Rob said.

"I know, darling. But you're turning ninety! I couldn't just ignore that. And everyone else wanted to be here, too. With Buddy and Mel gone, none of us know how long we're going to be here. We just wanted to make sure you know how much we all love you."

Rob's anger faded instantly. "I never really thought of it like that." He hugged Laura tightly. He was always grateful for her, but even more so right now. "I don't get to see everyone as much as I'd like, so this will be a treat. Thank you so much, sweetheart." He kissed her.

"You're welcome," Laura said as the kiss ended. "But promise you're going to act surprised." Rob quickly agreed, kissing her once more. He knew he could never ask for a better wife.


	3. Chapter 3

Rob and Laura stood in the living room anxiously waiting for their guests to arrive. This reminded them both of so many parties years ago. The highlight of the evening was always when Rob and Laura, as well as Buddy and Sally, would entertain the guests. No one would be doing that tonight, which made this evening a bit sad.

But Rob forced those thoughts aside as he went to answer the door. He opened it and found Sally Rogers standing there. "Sal!" He hugged her tightly.

"Aw, Rob, you knew about this, didn't you?" Sally asked when Rob let her go.

Rob bit his lip nervously to avoid answering.

"Laura, you blabbed, didn't you? This is just like when you told _everyone_ about Alan's toupee!"

"It wasn't like that," Laura answered. "Rob wanted a romantic dinner tonight. I had to tell him we couldn't do that."

Sally knew she couldn't be angry at Laura then. "Well, this isn't quite what I was expecting. Still, it's better than expecting a date and finding a _priest_ here!"

"Oh, Sally," Laura said, going over to take Sally's coat.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, Laura. I guess I haven't really been the same since Buddy and Herman passed away."

Laura squeezed Sally's hand. Their group of friends had grown so much smaller over the years. It was all the more reason to be grateful they had a reason to get together now.

Just as Laura finished hanging up Sally's coat, there was another knock at the door. She opened it and found Millie and Jerry standing there. "We're so glad you could come," Laura said, smiling at the sight of them.

"Well, we live next door. It's not like we had to drive a long way," Millie said.

"I know, but it's been so long since Rob and I have had a party."

"So? Was Rob surprised?" Millie asked.

"No," Sally answered immediately. She made no attempt to hide her disappointment.

"Oh," said Millie.

"Hey, Rob," Jerry said, going over to the birthday boy. "Ninety, huh?"

"Yeah, Jer, thanks for reminding me," Rob said, shaking his friend's hand.

"Age is just a number, right, darling?" Laura said, coming over to stand next to her husband.

"That's what she always tells me, who am I to disagree?" Rob asked, laughing. He knew Laura didn't see him as "old," even with the difference in their ages. It was one more reason he was glad he'd married her. He pulled Laura close, kissing her.

Sally couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy seeing how in love Rob and Laura were. She didn't begrudge Rob his happiness, but it made her miss Herman even more. After so many years of being single, she'd finally given and married Herman (and his mother). Only a few short years later, Herman was in a tragic car accident, which had left Sally a widow.

Laura glanced over at Sally and saw her expression. "Aw, Sal, you could still find somebody, you know. I know you loved Herman, but he's not the only guy out there!"

"Thanks, Laura," Sally said, smiling sadly. Dating didn't really interest her anymore, but she knew Laura meant well.

When there was another knock at the door, Rob looked at the group, doing a mental head-count of the guests Laura had mentioned. "That must be Rich," he said, going toward the door. He opened it. There stood Richie, along with his eight-year-old son.

"Grandpa!" The boy immediately hugged Rob around the waist. Rob put his arms around his young grandson. If he'd thought having Richie for a son was wonderful, well, it didn't even come close to this. The little boy let go of his grandfather. "Dad says you're ninety. You must be the oldest man in America!"

Richie looked down at his son. "Now, Bobby, you're not supposed to say things like that. Say you're sorry."

"Sorry, Grandpa," Bobby said, looking at the ground.

Rob couldn't stay mad at his namesake. "It's OK. I guess I must seem pretty old to you. But like your grandma said earlier, age is just a number."

"That's right," Richie agreed. "You wouldn't believe it today, but your grandma and grandpa used to sing and dance all the time. That's actually how they met. Grandma will never forget breaking her foot." He smiled at the story he'd heard countless times.

Laura came over to her son, hugging him and kissing his cheek. "A few broken bones were a small price to pay to meet the love of my life," she said.

For a moment, everyone was quiet. Sally broke the silence. "You know, Rob, if Buddy were here, he'd be doing _all_ his 'old' jokes."

Rob nodded. "I know. But at least he couldn't do his 'bald' ones!" He ran a hand through his hair. It may have turned white, but he hadn't lost a single strand.

"Well, you know wherever Mel is, he's jealous!" Sally said.

"I imagine Alan isn't too happy, either," Laura said. She still remembered coming into Alan's office after telling the world that he was bald, and seeing all of his toupees there on his desk.

"Who's Alan?" asked Bobby. He'd heard stories here and there about his grandparents and their friends, but it was all very confusing.

"Alan was Grandpa's boss when he used to write for _The Alan Brady Show,_ " Richie said. "That was back when I was your age."

"Wow," Bobby said, wide-eyed. He could hardly picture his dad being his age.

"Yeah," Rob said. "I used to write jokes and sketches for him every week. It sure wasn't easy. But I did it, so that I could support your dad and your grandma."

Suddenly, it hit Richie then how hard his father had worked when he was a boy. Back then, being a comedy writer had seemed easy. But now, as an adult, he knew differently. Unexpectedly, he went over and hugged Rob tightly. Richie looked at his son, who wore an expression of confusion. He couldn't blame Bobby for not understanding. But someday, he would make sure Bobby understood everything Richie had learned from his parents, especially about the importance of humor and family.

 **The End**


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